Missouri group get their say with state legislators

Organizers of a proposed ballot initiative that would make it harder for Missouri legislators to overturn voter-approved laws say they are abandoning their efforts.

A spokesman for the Your Vote Counts! campaign says the group has accomplished its primary purpose of making state lawmakers more mindful of the will of the people.

The effort was heavily subsidized by the Humane Society of the United States, which backed a 2010 ballot initiative that toughened Missouri's regulations on dog breeders. Voters approved the measure, but lawmakers have since overturned or revised many of its provisions.

This year's campaign sought a Missouri constitutional amendment requiring a three-fourths majority vote of both the House and the Senate to override voter-approved laws.